The Church Secret Shopper and Best-Selling Author on the Importance of the Hospitality Industry | Greg Atkinson

People turn to churches expecting great hospitality, a warm welcome, and a sense of solace. For them to keep getting what they expect, churches need to ensure that they never cease providing what they seek – hospitality. It is highly essential for places like these to create an ambiance for the visitors that would make them want to revisit. In case any business, organization, or place of worship that works based on hospitality fails to provide the very foundation of their service, they will face a drastic fall in the hospitality industry.

There are professionals who not only assess rather discreetly the hospitality services providers but also help them work on what they lack. One such professional is Greg Atkinson, who is a church secret shopper, a writer, an intellect, the founder of the First Impressions Conference and Worship Impressions and a best-selling author of four books on first impressions and the importance of the hospitality industry. He not only surveys organizations that work on the principle of hospitality but also helps them improve in their course of business. 

As a church secret shopper, he has been visiting churches and analyzing their services, and making visitors feel warm and welcomed. His aim is to ensure visitors get what they expect when visiting a church. He is someone who frequently shares his insights on the importance of hospitality and first impressions. In doing so, he provides tips and techniques as to how churches and other organizations that work in the hospitality industry can make their clientele feel comfortable when visiting. 

Importance of the Hospitality Industry—Insights of the Expert

For years Greg Atkinson has researched the sector of hospitality. His research has helped many businesses to learn how they can make their customers satisfied with their services, especially focusing on establishing an incredible first impression. He does not keep his research to himself and enlightens the world with his findings, helping them do better and thrive in the industry. 

According to Greg, providing hospitality is vital in helping organizations flourish. He shares that providing hospitality is way more essential than the other services. The word that derives from the Latin “hospitalitas” refers to friendliness to the guest provided by the host. Hospitality and first impressions go hand in hand in determining whether the visitor would pay another visit or not. Creating positive first impressions is only possible if the businesses ensure that their visitors are well-met with the hospitality they provide. 

Moreover, he emphasizes that hospitality is essential since it makes an individual feel satisfied. If that is not the case, no matter how good your services are, there is a likelihood that the visitor will not show up again and also share with others the unwelcoming experience they had, resulting in a significant decrease in visitor turnover. 

Greg Atkinson further stresses that it is the responsibility of the hospitality ministry to make sure that their visitors feel welcome, especially if they are in a church. The visitors tend to feel a need for comfort and acceptance, which means that it requires that the hospitality ministry provides them with the utmost care, comfort, and acceptance. When the visitors feel welcome, they will automatically feel that they are accepted in the walls of the church, any place of worship, or even businesses. This will lead to the visitors developing a sense of comfort, making them satisfied and establishing a desire to revisit. 

Helping Churches and Businesses to Improve

The best-selling author and secret shopper has always played an important role in helping organizations build a better relationship with their clientele by providing insights on how they can improve their hospitality toward visitors. He is of the view that in order to establish a great hospitable environment for visitors, organizations, including churches and businesses, must be open to any change they may require to make in their course of business. 

Greg claims that if organizations are flexible enough to accept change, they can increase their clientele to a much greater extent, leading to the success of the organizations in terms of the services they provide. He also mentions that all visitors should be treated equally. If one of the visitors gets a warm welcome, so should the rest of the visitors. It is undeniably imperative for organizations to provide indiscriminate attention to all visitors so that they all feel equally important to the organization. 

Pay attention to the needs of all individuals who show up at your doorsteps from the moment they appear to the time they leave. No visitor should feel left out, especially in the first few moments of their visit. Once all visitors get your undivided attention right from the beginning, they will begin to feel comfortable being in your place and are most likely to share their experiences with others. 

When they do so, it indicates that they felt good being there and would also like others to visit and feel the same way. As a result, your organization will begin to have more visitors and a better, extended clientele.